HEZBOLLAH Naim Kassem vowed today that the Lebanese resistance organisation would not disarm, despite orders to do so from Lebanon's government.

Removing “the defensive weapons of the resistance, its people and Lebanon during an aggression” would facilitate the killing of “resistance fighters and their families and evict them from their land and homes," he warned.

“The government is serving the Israeli project,” Mr Kassem charged, saying that while Hezbollah and its ally the Amal party have not yet called supporters onto the streets in protest, if they decide to do that, “protesters will be all over Lebanon and head to the US embassy.”

Hezbollah was long thought the most formidable actor in the “axis of resistance,” comprising Iran-supported militias opposing Israeli expansionism. But it is thought to have suffered significantly from the Israeli invasion that began last October and the killing of its long-term leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Mr Kassem said Hezbollah would not discuss disarmament until Israel fully withdraws its forces from Lebanese territory and ends its near-daily bombing raids.